Hydrogenation of 3-nitro-4-methoxy-acetylaniline with H2 to 3-amino-4-methoxy-acetylaniline catalyzed by bimetallic copper/nickel nanoparticles

Abstract

Monometallic Cu, monometallic Ni, and bimetallic Cu_xNi_y nanoparticles were prepared by a wet chemical reduction method. A Cu–Ni alloy phase was formed in the bimetallic Cu_xNi_y nanoparticles. The bimetallic Cu_xNi_y nanoparticles exhibited higher catalytic activity for the hydrogenation of 3-nitro-4-methoxy-acetylaniline (NMA) to 3-amino-4-methoxy-acetylaniline (AMA) with H₂ than the sole Ni nanoparticles, which was ascribed to the effect of the Cu–Ni alloy phase. When the reaction was catalyzed over the bimetallic Cu_0.7Ni_0.3 catalyst at 140 °C for 2 h, the AMA selectivity was 99.4% when the NMA conversion was 95.7%. The reaction activation energy for NMA hydrogenation was 19.74 kJ mol⁻¹.